Stability is not something that exists in the world of The Walking Dead. Fear the Walking Dead is headed down that same path. I’m sincerely hoping we don’t end up with our survivors wandering aimlessly and encountering sadistic psychopaths like in The Walking Dead, but it’s clear a safe place is going to pretty hard to find.

Photo Credit: Richard Foreman, Jr/AMC

As I mentioned in my review of the season premiere, there are people out there who are relishing in the lawless society, but so far there hasn’t been a Governor or Negan type. That stands to reason since the end of the world is pretty new still in Fear the Walking Dead. In the second episode of the second season, “We All Fall Down,” we get to meet another family who’s just trying to get by.

George (David Warshofsky) and Melissa (Catherine Dent) live in the relative safety of a fairly uninhabited island. They have a nice beach house that is separated from wandering walkers by a chain link fence. We viewers know that fence is not likely to hold very long, and George knows it too. As nice as this family seems their world teeters on the edge of sanity.

George is determined to stay in his home at all costs. Unfortunately those costs are pretty high. George and Melissa have three children. Seth (Jake Austin Walker) is a teen who shares his father’s idealization of saving the homestead above all else. He takes out walkers as if he’s been doing it forever. Willa (Aria Lyric Leabu) and Harry (Jeremiah and Maverick Clayton) and young kids who seem to already be adjusting to the reality of the new world. They are unphased by the beach walkers that eerily rise out of the surf, and Harry has drawn head wounds on all of his action figures to symbolize what has to been done to the sick.

Photo Credit: Richard Foreman, Jr/AMC

Though this family is unraveling in sanity they are not bad people. I liked that they never meant any harm to Travis’ (Cliff Curtis) group. Instead they were a portrayal of the loss of hope that must be running through whatever society is left.

What’s cool, what’s not:

We meet new people: I like getting glimpses into what’s going on with regular people as the world falls apart.

Seth is on his way to becoming a bad guy: Seth took to the walker killing a little too well. He also had no qualms about holding everyone at gunpoint to get his little brother back. Without his parents around he’s on his way to becoming a Governor-like guy. That means little Harry will probably be on that same path, provided they both survive. I wonder if we’ll see them again.

Photo Credit: Richard Foreman, Jr/AMC

What is up with Victor?: He’s been a mysterious character from the start, but now it appears there’s way more going on with Victor (Colman Domingo) than meets the eye. Who was he calling? What exactly does he think he’s going to do?

Photo Credit: Richard Foreman, Jr/AMC

The not so cool:

They could use a stronger story: There’s not a lot of narrative drive to this show. We need more concrete goals. As an audience we already know there’s nowhere safe to go. They need to establish what the survivors hope to accomplish, even if it’s short-term goals.